


Skydancer

by avidbeader



Series: Scattered [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Season/Series 02, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-03-30 02:52:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13941018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avidbeader/pseuds/avidbeader
Summary: Sequel to "Scattered", S2 AU. The team may be reunited after being flung across the universe by an unstable wormhole, but their troubles are far from over. Zarkon has a plan to both eliminate Voltron and improve the Galra forces...and he needs the Red Paladin to do it.





	1. Recognition

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: If you recognize the character, it isn't mine. Just playing in Dreamworks' sandbox.
> 
> Notes: I'm on Twitter and Tumblr under Avidbeader. Come say hi!
> 
> Thanks as always to LaTart0903 for fabulous beta help.

 

_A tiny voice in the back of his head told him not to do this, even as he cut communications with the castle. It sounded a lot like Shiro, but Keith ignored it. He had to do this, he had to try and take out Zarkon now. Cut off the head of the snake and it would die. Kill Zarkon and Shiro would never have to fight him for control of the Black Lion again._

 

_But the fight quickly turned against him. It was taking everything Keith had just to keep Red moving in order to stay alive. Whatever that weapon in Zarkon’s hand was, it shifted from sword to shield to whip with astonishing speed._

 

“It takes a distinct shape for each paladin.”

 

_Allura’s voice echoed and suddenly Keith realized what he was seeing._

 

_Zarkon’s weapon shifted back into a giant sword and was diving straight for him—_

 

Keith shot up, gasping for air. His hands gripped the covers reflexively and the feel of the cloth helped ground him. On the heels of that realization, Red began purring in his mind.

 

**_My paladin is safe. Just a nightmare. You are safe, my cub._ **

 

_I know, thanks, Red._

 

He lay back, moving a little so his knife wasn’t digging into the back of his head through the pillow. He thought for a moment, trying to replay the dream. There was something important he had missed.

 

“It takes a distinct shape for each paladin.”

 

Keith sat up again. _Red!_

 

**_Yes, you are right._ **

 

_Zarkon has Shiro’s bayard?_

 

**_Remember what the princess said. She spoke truth._ **

 

Keith thought back to the day Allura had given them the paladin armor and the bayards. She had said something about the black bayard being lost with its last paladin.

 

_Wait, that can’t be!_

 

**_I am afraid it is true, my cub._ **

 

 _Zarkon?_ The _Zarkon? He was a paladin? How the hell did that happen?_

 

**_He was not always what he is now. He…changed._ **

 

Keith felt as if his eyes would pop out, they were so wide open. He spoke aloud, needing to hear any sound at all. “Red, I have to tell Shiro. How do I make him believe me?”

 

**_He knows, or will realize soon. He was the target when Zarkon tried to retake my brother._ **

 

Putting the words _Shiro_ and _target_ in the same sentence sent threads of ice down Keith’s spine. He tried to focus. “Okay, then how do we convince the others?”

 

**_Oh, you know what you can do to show them._ **

 

He did. Keith swung his legs out of the bed and looked for those silly red lion slippers since they were faster than his boots, and grabbed the robe that went with the Altean pajamas. He started for Green’s hangar, which was the first place Pidge was likely to be this late at night.

 

<> <> <> <> <>

 

Pidge was sprawled across the couch she had asked Hunk and Shiro to bring into Green’s hangar, tucked into a corner with her various computers and equipment. Shiro had worn his best “disapproving dad” face as they did. But she had successfully argued that it was better to have something comfortable to crash on when she inevitably fell asleep in here mid-project.

 

“…so if Shiro will give me a couple hours to record the frequencies that the Galra hand generates, I should be able to program them into repeaters and use the Altean version of SIM chips to broadcast them. Then we install the SIM chips in everyone’s gloves and, boom! It’s all-access, all the time. Every Galra ship.”

 

The video image of Matt on her tablet nodded thoughtfully. “Sounds workable. But Shiro was a prisoner, remember? He was recognized after a few minutes of poking around in their system when you all tried to infiltrate before, from what you said. A safer bet would probably be DNA or the frequencies from one of those sentry robots.”

 

Pidge opened her mouth, thought it through, and closed it again, slumping against the cushions. “Dammit, you’re probably right. I might be able to find a way to strip anything that IDs Shiro from the information in his arm, but that could take weeks of code-breaking.”

 

“I agree. Much faster to go to the source.”

 

“Sure, just catch a Galra, grab some DNA samples, and turn him loose again. Piece of cake.”

 

“Or get what you need when you’re back on Arus. Didn’t you say there were a lot of leftover sentry parts you were playing with?”

 

Pidge smacked her head. “Oh for the love of— I can’t believe I forgot about that!”

 

“How soon are you going back?”

 

“Don’t know. Depends on whether we find more Metreans as we sweep their sector.”

 

“How’s that—”

 

Matt’s voice broke off as Pidge looked away to see who was coming into the hangar.

 

“Hey, Keith. What are you doing awake?”

 

“I need your help. You know how to work the memory-recorder, right?”

 

“Yeah, Coran showed me. Why?”

 

“I need someone else to tell me if what I’m remembering is true.”

 

Pidge looked back down to her tablet. “I’m gonna go take care of this. Talk to you tomorrow?”

 

Matt nodded. “Okay. Keep me updated on anything that’s potential ammo for Operation Convince Mom.”

 

Pidge blew him a kiss and disconnected. Keith held out a hand and pulled her to her feet. “So your mom is still deciding?”

 

“Honestly I think she’s already decided to do it, but keeps thinking about more details that need taking care of before going on a really extended trip. She was showing worrywart tendencies after Kerberos.”

 

Keith nodded, deep in thought. As his eyebrows scrunched together, Pidge tried to pull him out of his head. “So, what is it you’re trying to remember in the dead of night when you should be asleep?”

 

He blinked and focused on her. “Hi, pot, I’m kettle.”

 

“Fine, fine. But you usually do get some sleep.”

 

They arrived at the A.I. chamber and Keith put a hand on it to open the door. “I woke up from a nightmare. I was dreaming about fighting Zarkon, only he was going to kill me and Shiro didn’t get there in time. But there was something about the weapon he was using. I want to record my memory of the fight and see if I’m right.”

 

Pidge crossed to the control console and poked a few buttons, bringing up the lights and activating the device. “No problem. Grab one of the interfaces from the shelf over there and I’ll hook you in.”

 

Keith did so and sat down next to the console while she continued to swipe at displays.

 

“Want me to watch, too?”

 

She had made the offer reflexively, remembering how reliving even the benign memories had been incredibly powerful. Keith’s silence made her look up.

 

“Keith?”

 

“I…it was…intense. Are you sure?”

 

She reached out and took his hand. “I’m sure. Just be prepared for a hug when you’re done, just so I can remind myself that you’re okay.”

 

Keith smiled a little at that. “Deal.”

 

<> <> <> <> <>

 

He didn’t know whether it was getting used to the process of reliving one’s memory, the fact that it was mostly a replay of the nightmare, or Pidge keeping a tight grip on his hand. This was a little easier than he had expected—this time he was able to analyze the moves he had made, the successful ones and the times his defenses had broken down. If there was a next time, he might do a bit better.

 

**_A next time will include backup from the others, even if my brother must stay out of range._ **

 

_Yes, ma’am._

 

Red chuckled and withdrew as Keith’s memory closed in on Zarkon and the weapon in his hand. He jumped as Pidge squeezed, digging her nails into his hand, and shrieked.

 

“That’s a bayard! That’s the black bayard! What the hell is Zarkon doing with it?”

 

Some of the knots of tension in his stomach began to loosen. He had been right. It wasn’t the best feeling to know that Zarkon had a weapon that was rightfully Shiro’s, but he hadn’t made it up.

 

Keith stayed with the memory until the point where Shiro had come for him, making sure he had every possible visual of the black bayard and Zarkon’s manipulation of it. He reached up and touched the control to stop the recording and looked over at Pidge. Her face was contorted in fury.

 

“That evil toad! How long has he had Shiro’s bayard, to make it actually work for him like that?”

 

Keith swallowed, steeling himself for the coming inferno.

 

“Remember what Allura said. It was lost with its paladin.”

 

Pidge turned to him, eyebrows shooting up. “What.” Her tone was dangerously flat.

 

Then her head tilted into a listening angle. Her mouth parted and she began shaking her head. “Green says—”

 

“So did Red.” Keith took her other hand, hoping to stave off Volcano Pidge.

 

“Why did Allura lie? Why would she do that to us? Did she expect we wouldn’t find out?”

 

Keith shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe? Maybe she didn’t think he’d still have it. Maybe she never expected us to confront him directly. I don’t know.”

 

“We have to tell the others.”

 

“I know. That’s why I wanted to record the memory. We show Shiro first. I want him to have a say in how we handle it.”

 

Pidge nodded, taking a deep breath. She lifted the apparatus from Keith’s head and set it aside. Then she launched herself at him, her arms tight around his neck.

 

“Promise me. Promise me you will never put yourself in such a place again. I get why you tried, but you should have cut and run as soon as Black was out of his range.”

 

Keith slid his arms around her and let his head rest on her shoulder. The interruption to his sleep was catching up with him. “I promise I’ll try.”

 

Pidge drew a breath as if to argue her point, then let it go. “Come on. We can see if Shiro’s actually asleep right now or not.”

 

Keith narrowed his eyes as she pulled him to his feet. “And how do you manage that?”

 

“The castle has cameras everywhere. And I’ve been able to jump in on most of them. Between that and accessing the system that reads heat signatures, I can usually tell where anyone is at any time.”

 

“Pidge…”

 

“Don’t tell on me and I won’t tell Shiro how many extra hours you work in the training room without us. You know he doesn’t like it when we overwork ourselves.”

 

“You…are possibly the scariest person I know, Pidge.”

 

<> <> <> <> <>

 

Shiro leaned back in his chair on the bridge, scrubbing at his eyes with his left hand. He knew he should be trying to sleep, but every attempt was just an opportunity for more nightmares. Since they had all managed to reunite after being scattered by a destabilized wormhole, the repertoire had gotten worse. He was used to dreams reliving his capture by the Galra, being separated from Matt and Sam, fighting in the arena, suffering the experiments by Haggar.

 

But now there were the dreams of the team. Of not getting there in time to help Pidge or Hunk. Or finding Keith in that room in the Garrison, his body cold and stiffening because Darzi had succeeded in killing him.

 

The one solid sleep he’d had since they left Earth had been dozing off next to Keith in one of the observatory lounges. They’d been watching the stars streak by as the castle followed the search pattern, looking for any more Metreans that had gotten away before the Galra had destroyed their planet. And Keith had let him nod off on his shoulder, keeping watch for over three hours.

 

He sat up, shaking his head to clear it, and tried to refocus on the star maps in front of him. They had located two transports of Metreans, and the captain piloting the second one was sure that at least one more had gotten out from the same launching area. The ship was constantly broadcasting a call, tightly focused onto the few frequencies Hunk had isolated. They had covered over a quarter of the territory between the Metreans’ former planet and the one they had fled to before the Galra found and attacked them yet again.

 

**_My paladin should try to sleep again._ **

 

Shiro’s mouth twisted in a derisive smile. “Yeah, for all of an hour. Sorry, Black. I’m just not going to get any rest for a while.”

 

**_Red’s cub will help._ **

 

“I can’t depend on Keith to watch me sleep. He needs to rest as well.”

 

Black threw two mental images at him, one after the other. One was of Keith in his room, tossing and turning restlessly. The other was of a pile of kittens, tangled together and sleeping blissfully.

 

“Wait, Keith’s not sleeping well either?”

 

And as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Shiro wanted to smack himself. Of course Keith probably wasn’t sleeping well after what he’d been through. But was sharing quarters the answer? Keith had always seemed to value his personal space, both when he had lived with Shiro’s family as a child and later on at the Garrison.

 

Black’s presence shifted suddenly, withdrawing from his mind abruptly. Before Shiro could ask him what the problem was, the doors hissed open.

 

“Told you he’d be here!” Pidge crowed.

 

Shiro turned around to see Pidge, still fully dressed even though it was very late, and Keith in his robe and pajamas. “What are you two doing out of bed?”

 

Pidge flapped a hand at him. “Could ask you the same thing. But we need to talk to you.” She grabbed Keith’s arm and propelled him forward.

 

Shiro frowned. “Keith? What’s wrong?”

 

Keith drew a deep breath. “I found out what happened to your bayard.”

 

“My bayard? Allura said it was gone, lost with the original Black Paladin.”

 

Keith nodded. “Except it wasn’t a case of lost as much as betrayed and left.” He stopped and Pidge ran her hand up and down his arm, trying to encourage him.

 

Shiro stood and moved close to them. “Keith?”

 

He drew a deep breath and looked up. “It’s Zarkon. Zarkon was the Black Paladin and he has your bayard.”

 

 


	2. Herded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: If you recognize the character, it isn't mine. Just playing in Dreamworks' sandbox.
> 
> Notes: I'm on Twitter and Tumblr under Avidbeader. Come say hi!
> 
> Thanks as always to [Latart0903](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Latart0903/pseuds/Latart0903) for cutting out the worst of my jibberjabber.

 

 

“I got something!”

 

Hunk leaned over Pidge’s shoulder at her announcement. “Is it more Metreans?”

 

“Maybe. I’m trying the frequencies Luvixx gave us.” Her fingers flew over her screen as she sent the same hail multiple times. “Lance, go get Varixian so he can talk to them if we get a signal.”

 

“Me?” Lance tried to cover it up, but the squeak in his voice was definitely there.

 

Hunk cuffed Pidge lightly on the back of her head. “Be nice.”

 

Pidge snickered and Lance sent a glare of death to Hunk. “You told them.”

 

“Told them what? It was obvious at the negotiations table that you’re terrified of spiders. I didn’t have to say a word.” Hunk laughed and left the bridge.

 

Pidge glanced at Allura while she waited to see if her hails got any response. The princess was at her station, but her eyes kept darting around tentatively, mainly in Shiro’s direction. His posture was rigid rather than alert.

 

She checked on Keith, who showed a similar stiffness. But for Keith this was somewhat normal, especially if they were waiting around for something to happen.

 

And the events of the night before came back to her. They hadn’t spoken to Allura yet about the fact that Zarkon had Shiro’s bayard or that Zarkon had once been Black’s paladin.

 

**_Easy, my cub. Let them approach when they are ready._ **

 

Pidge blew her bangs out of her face, keeping her eye on the channel. An indicator on her control panel beeped and she sat up. “Princess, they’re responding!”

 

“Bring up a communications link.” Allura straightened. A holoscreen appeared with a pair of Metreans, looking wary. “Greetings. I am Princess Allura, leader of the Voltron force. We have been searching for you and are ready to assist you in rejoining the other survivors from your world.”

 

The Metrean on the right had pale streaks in his fur that Pidge now knew to be a sign of maturity. The one on the left was dressed in green, indicating a Metrean Representor. The Representor drew breath to speak, but the elder interrupted him.

  
“Why should we trust you? I don’t see the fabled Voltron anywhere, just your ship! How do we know you aren’t in league with the Galra, hunting down the rest of us?”

 

Varixian’s voice sounded from behind Pidge. “You know because I’m telling you, kinsman.”

 

The Metreans glanced at one another and back to them in shock. The Representor recovered first. “Kinsman! You are with these people?”

 

Varixian moved to stand beside Allura, with Hunk beside him, and gestured at them both. “Yes. I am Artificer Varixian of Clan Ged. Thanks to Voltron, the largest refugee party with most of the Representors was protected when the Galra found our evacuation location. That entire group has been resettled on a planet called Arus, far enough away that the Galra are much less likely to be a problem. We have located and escorted two other refugee ships to Arus from  this area; you were the last ones we had information on.”

 

Allura stepped in before they could argue. “We can open a wormhole to Arus in just a few tics and reunite you with your fellow Metreans. All that is necessary is to fly through it.”

 

The two looked at each other, then the Representor nodded. “Thank you, Princess. We accept.”

 

“Very well. Ask your people to seat themselves. Teludav jumps are generally smooth, but a little turbulence is possible. Coran, set coordinates for Arus.”

  
  
“Of course, Prin—” He was cut off as alarms began blaring.

 

“What is it?” Shiro’s voice was sharp.

 

Coran brought up a tactical display. “Two Galra battleships just came out of hyperdrive! They’re headed straight for us!”

 

Allura leapt to the castle’s navigation columns. “Is there any way for us to bring the Metrean ship into a hangar?”

 

“It’s too big,” Hunk replied.

 

“Then we need to hold them off long enough to open the wormhole. Paladins, get to your lions!”

 

Pidge darted for her hangar.

 

<> <> <> <> <>

 

Hunk was irritated. Really, really irritated.

 

Everything had been going according to plan. They had found the Metrean ship, Allura was ready to open a wormhole to get them to Arus where the rest of their people waited.

 

So _of quiznaking course_ the Galra had to show up.

 

Hunk reached for Yellow, who growled and brought up their super-armor-claws the moment they were clear of the hangar. Hunk had barely shifted the controls forward when Yellow took off, straight for the nearest of the Galra ships. Fighter drones were spilling out of it, hundreds of them, and, as they flew forward to engage, Yellow plowed through them and rammed the ion cannon before a shield could appear to protect it.

 

“Whoa, boy! What’s gotten into you?” He vaguely heard Shiro telling Pidge to back him up, but she would have to maneuver through the fighters first.

 

**_Strike first. Give no opportunities._ **

 

“Engines, then! Take out their propulsion!”

 

Yellow agreed and they whipped around to the rear of the ship, claws extended. As they shredded the turbines, digging through the hull, Lance’s voice pierced his ears.

 

“What’s happening? Why are all the fighters converging on Keith?”

 

<> <> <> <> <>

 

Shiro soared through the waves of fighters, heading for the second ship as Hunk attacked the first one. He fired repeatedly, swinging the energy beams in wide sweeps to take down as many fighters as he could.

 

“Pidge, go with Hunk and finish that ship. Keith, Lance, with me! Take out as many fighters as you can, but we need to bring down the big guns first!”

 

Ice beams appeared on his left side, immobilizing fighters. Shiro was already going for the shield on the remaining ship’s ion cannon when he realized nothing was happening on his right side.

 

**_They are trying to separate us. Finish quickly._ **

 

At the same time, Lance yelled over the comms, “What’s happening? Why are all the fighters converging on Keith?”

 

Shiro pulled around to look. Over fifty fighters were swarming after Red, who was holding them off by speed alone. And then he saw the second wave, preparing to flank him in open space and create a crossfire. “Keith!”

 

“I know! I got this!” Keith shouted back as he and Red spun like a hummingbird toward the second group of fighters, dodging fire as they drew closer. And at the very last second Red shot up and out of the way, leaving dozens of fighters crashing into one another and exploding in laser fire. But far too many of them pulled out in time and continued their pursuit, as more fighters poured out of the ship. Shiro glanced around, seeing that the Yellow Lion was turning the first ship’s hull into shrapnel, and adjusted the plan.

 

“Lance, Pidge! Concentrate on the remaining ship, engines and weapons! I’m going to help Keith!”

 

The Red Lion had circled back and was beginning to weave through the wreckage of the destroyed fighters, slowing down his pursuers. “Shiro, we’re okay! Get that second ion cannon down!” As if his words were prophecy, the ion cannon sent a blast against the Castle’s particle barrier, shaking it and the Metrean transport huddled next to it.

 

“We don’t have anything to take it down fast enough! We need Voltron!” Pidge objected.

 

“Yeah, that’s not happening as long as all those fighters are after the Red Lion!” Lance shot back.

 

Shiro seized on an idea. “Wait, Keith! Your rail gun! Use it on the ion cannon! We’ll cover you!”

 

“Yes, sir!” Keith and Red darted back, and the others moved to intercept the fighters.

 

Shiro sucked in a breath as a huge weapon appeared on Red’s back in swirling blue light. Energy gathered in the prongs, building for a few seconds, then a pulsing beam leapt from it, racing through space toward the Galra ship.

 

It tore the ship in two, explosions spreading rapidly through the halves.

 

Hunk’s voice dragged his attention back. “Guys! The fighters! They’re not stopping!”

 

Shiro deployed Black’s jawblades and began carving up any drones he could reach. His concern mounted when he realized that there were still hundreds of remaining fighters.

 

And they were ignoring all targets in favor of the Red Lion.

 

<> <> <> <> <>

 

“Dammit, dammit, _dammit_!” Keith could feel the sweat running down his face as he and Red continued to try and shake the flood of fighters. “What the hell are they doing?”

 

Red was growling in irritation. **_Unknown._ **

 

He tried the rail gun once, but it needed to build power before releasing and was too narrow a beam for the mobile targets. The flamethrower worked better for taking out multiple targets at a time, but he had to concentrate on evasion. He could hear the others trying to coordinate how best to cut down the numbers when a third ship, bigger than the other two, dropped out of hyperspace and began spewing out more drones.

 

Shiro cursed over the comms. “Keith, can you handle yourself long enough for us to take out that ship?”

 

Keith was steering Red through any open path they could find. It was getting impossibly crowded and the fighters were firing less and chasing more. Every dodge Keith and Red made would send two fighters into each other, only to have three take their place. And the only cover available was the remains of the other warships and fighters. If only there were a handy asteroid field…

 

“Keith! Come back to the castle!”

 

The others protested Allura’s order, a cacophony of words echoing in his ears. Shiro cut across all of them. “Princess, what if we need Voltron?”

 

“Look at how they’re attacking! Keith needs to bring Red inside the particle barrier! Then we can all concentrate our fire on the last ship and wormhole away from the fighters!”

 

Red was already turning up to where the castle-ship had positioned itself. **_Good plan._ **

 

“Go, Keith! Get to safety!” Shiro barked.

 

Keith snarled in frustration, but guided Red up. As they approached, the grid around the castle dropped, allowing them to close in. The second they were within range, the grid popped back up and dozens of fighters splashed against the barrier, cracking apart in fireballs. He and Red quickly took out the handful that had made it through with a few bursts of fire.

 

“We’re in!”

 

“Stay with the Metreans,” Allura ordered. “Coran, fire!”

 

Keith leaned forward to watch, just in case he needed to come back out, but reared back as more fighters exploded against the castle’s shield. He realized that most of the fighters were still  trying to reach him, instead of breaking off and attacking the other lions. _What the hell?_

 

**_They are programmed to sustain an attack against one target._ **

 

_Okay, but why? Why us? That makes no sense at all!_

 

**_I don’t know, my cub._ **

 

Shiro’s voice interrupted their thoughts. “All right, ship is down! Allura, get that wormhole open!”

 

“Ready! Everyone, when it opens, get through it as fast as possible! Keith, stay inside the barrier!”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Keith replied dryly. A circle of light formed and grew in front of them, expanding around a swirl of different-colored sky and stars. The other lions darted through, then the castle with Red and the Metreans close to it.

 

Keith became conscious of his rapid pulse and shallow breathing. The last time he’d gone through a wormhole without being on the ship’s bridge, he and Red had been torn away from everyone else…

 

**_We are safe. This wormhole is secure._ **

 

Red’s reassurance came just before they emerged, seeing the familiar topography of Arus. He still had to bring his gasps under control before he hyperventilated.

 

“Keith? Are you okay?” Shiro’s voice was worried and Keith wondered if he’d been calling to him. Wreckage from the few fighters that had made it into the wormhole plummeted to the ground below.

 

“Yeah, yeah. We’re okay.”

 

“Everyone, rendezvous at the Metrean settlement.” Allura’s direction helped him focus, and Keith steered Red to join the other lions.

 

<> <> <> <> <>

 

Lance emerged from the showers, scrubbing a towel over his head and luxuriating in the feel of _different clothes_. He was in his favorite surfer tee and a fresh pair of jeans, padding down the hall in his socks. Everyone had retrieved extra clothes when they had visited home after Keith’s rescue and Lance, at least, was hugely grateful for them.

 

Pidge exited her room in front of him, and Lance blinked. He wasn’t sure how long it would take him to get used to seeing her in different clothes, such as the flowy green blouse she was wearing over black jeans. He sped up to catch her.

 

“Where are you off to?”

 

“Didn’t you hear the all-call? Shiro and the princess want a debrief. We’re starting in the conference room near the bridge as soon as Coran and Hunk get back from the settlement.”

 

“Didn’t hear it. I was in the shower.”

 

Pidge ignored him in favor of the Altean tablet she was carrying and they entered the meeting room. Shiro and Keith were already there, heads close together and Shiro’s hand on Keith’s shoulder as they talked in low voices. Lance sniffed, seeing them both still basically wearing the same clothes as always, though the shirt under Shiro’s heavy vest was now black and Keith’s T-shirt was a deep red.

 

Allura followed them in, holding her own tablet. “Coran and Hunk will be here in a few minutes. The Metreans have one more set of possibilities for us to try and track down.”

 

Shiro sat back and nodded. “Same sector?”

 

“No, these are ships that left from their northern hemisphere. Their trajectories place them in the Gozniar quadrant.”

 

“And what’s that quadrant like?” Keith asked. “More deserted empty space?”

 

“No, actually. It’s fairly well-populated and our search is likely to be faster if we stop and ask for information. There are a number of space ports that are nominally under Galra control, but are mostly left alone by the Empire to keep commercial interests running smoothly.”

 

“That’ll be a nice change,” Lance commented.

 

Hunk and Coran entered, Hunk still wearing his armor. He dropped his helmet on the table and collapsed into a chair. “Wow, I never thought talking would be so exhausting!”

 

Allura smiled at him. “Leadership is an exhausting job. But we’ll make a diplomat of you yet, Hunk.”

 

Shiro leaned forward, signaling the start of the debrief. “All right, we need to talk about the battle today. The Galra have never fought like this before and we need to figure out why.”

 

“They know our biggest weakness: capture one lion and we can’t form Voltron.” Lance felt particularly proud to point that out before anyone else could.

 

“Yeah, but why go after Keith? The best pilot in the fastest lion? Hunk would be a much easier target,” Pidge argued.

 

“Hey!”

 

She shrugged. “Sorry, Hunk, but it’s true. Those big ships didn’t engage immediately; all they did was dump out wave after wave of fighters. And there were logistically enough fighters that they could have tried attacking all of us at once, keeping us separated and too busy defending ourselves to take out their ships. Instead it looked like they were all programmed to go after Keith like a tsunami. Even when we tried to run interference, they ignored us.”

 

“Pidge is right.” Shiro cast a worried glance at Keith. “Their entire battle plan seemed to be taking down the Red Lion. The question is, why?”

 

“Revenge?” Coran offered. “Keith was the one to attack Zarkon directly when we fought them before.”

 

Keith snorted in disgust. “Not like I did any real damage to him.”

 

Allura’s expression hardened. “The fact that you attacked in the first place would be insult enough to him.”

 

Lance huffed out a laugh. “Good going, mullet. You jumped the gun and now you have the personal attention of the biggest bad in the universe.”

 

Shiro laid a hand on Keith’s arm as Keith drew breath to respond. Keith glanced at him and sat back, crossing his arms and satisfying himself with a death-glare at Lance.

 

Lance made a mental note to avoid doing any training with Keith for a few days.

 

<> <> <> <> <>

 

Haggar watched from her place by the throne as Zarkon loomed over his target. Commander Prorok was on one knee, head bowed. His second in command was behind him and to the side, almost across from Haggar herself.

 

“I grow tired of your string of failures, Prorok. You disobeyed orders at Balmera X-95-Vox and Voltron escaped you. You were in charge of the solar barrier when it was sabotaged, allowing their ship to flee. And now, you couldn’t even accomplish so minor a task as to capture the Red Lion and its paladin after we gave you their location.”

 

“Sire, we sent out hundreds of fighters, every last one we had! I don’t understand how they could have evaded so many!”

 

“Because, you fool, the Red Paladin is proving to be a pilot of immeasurable talent and the entire Voltron team was there to support him,” Haggar hissed, needing to insert her voice in the conversation in a way that would make sense to these military-minded simpletons. “The target is the paladin, not the lion. You must set up a situation where the paladins are not with the lions, then capture him. Be prepared—one of my druids faced him and reports that he is quite capable fighting hand-to-hand. The element of surprise will be paramount.”

 

Prorok’s expression hardened, affronted that a witch was dictating strategy to him. His second, however, looked thoughtful and Haggar paused to place the man’s name. Anyone in the chain of command who would be receptive to her advice was worth cultivating.

  
_Thace,_ she remembered. _Lieutenant Thace._

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you as always for reading! Comments are greatly appreciated.


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